Into the Woods
Jun. 22nd, 2023 11:26 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lydamorehouseWe have had the third session now of nothing but role-play. I am in heaven, but I worry about my fellow players.
Because the actual session was a little disjointed and thus hard to distill into a singular narrative, this letter also goes off on a tangent about how weird the world would be if we really lived by the rules of 5e. Because of a Cleric character I have waiting in the wings, I've been thinking a lot about death in a world where revivify (and other raise the dead) spells exist. Like, revivify is pretty common, so long as you have a diamond (or diamond dust) worth 300 gold or something like that. This made me think that it would be fully possible for a bunch of aristocrats, like Ave's social class, to make dying and revivifying into a party trick/social fad. Which helps explain why she was so shocked to discover murder was a crime!
If you're curious about how Ave might have participated in that, read under the cut!
==============
June 22
The Verdant Vale Inn
Derlow Forest Edge
Ceyan Empire
Dearest Idyril and Sierra:
I did my very best to convince everyone not to go into the forest. As you can see from my address, I failed.
This is so much of a bad idea that, way back at the Mid-Winter Lodge, two or more days ago, some Star Druids gave Hana a vision of being terrorized by owlbears. She only just told me about it now, while we are on the actual fucking road into Derlow Wood, because she thinks the point of the vision was that it was terrifying because she was alone. Not the whole mauled by bears part. That part is apparently fine. So fine, in fact, that the solution is to, I guess, bring all of us into danger.
Sure.
Makes sense.
I’m trying very hard not to miss the monastery or, gods forbid, home. You’re probably boggling at that last bit, but we now have someone in tow from the university. Aurika “Petri,” who very much reminds me of myself--except, well, shockingly, even higher placed in society. We know Petri is not her real last name because, when we pressed her as to why armed guards seemed to always be on her tail, she confessed.
Aurika is seventh in line to the Imperial Throne.
Yes. I can almost feel you straightening up at the bar, catching your breath, just as I did when I heard this.
Idyril, this group of yahoos and I are taking the Emperor’s cousin, once removed--or whatever she is--into a forest that a lovely Ent person who lives at the University’s quad literally told us is fully of not only owlbears, which are bad enough, but also, and I quote, “shambling people” and “translucent things.”
The Undead, Idyril.
At least we have two Druids, both of whom have studied revivification. Normally, this is not a Druid thing, I guess. By chance, Raymal and Hana are of the same order--some kind of spore or fungus worship. Those little rot animals have always seemed a little slimy and alien to me, but I’m not going to judge, especially not when it saves lives. I’ve also managed to talk everyone in the party who can afford it into buying diamonds or diamond dust which is the key component to the revivify spell. Some of us are even carrying two or three diamonds.
Speaking of nostalgia, I’ve gone back to last year’s Winter Court fashion of wearing a glass vial of diamond dust around my neck for easy revivification. I don’t even mind how “last season” I look.
That was such a strange little fashion. I know you remember it, because you had that cute earring commissioned. It had those three small diamonds hidden like tiny blossoms in the silvery ivy, all dangling and twistingly clever, ending in little flower-shaped glass vial with the remaining diamond dust inside. So much amazing jewelry was being made that incorporated glass vials and diamond dust! And yet the whole thing only became the rage because Mother finally had Master Xistrith successfully assassinated in his own temple, surrounded by clerics fully capable of bringing him back, but for want of a cheap-ass diamond. Remember how even the Ofandrus Clan even started wearing them? Like anyone would try to murder those oafs! They had the political influence of a peanut.
Nobody talked about Mystralath, though. The dead look she started to have in her eyes after the seventeenth revivification? Ghastly! I was at those parties, Idyril, but I want you to know that I wasn’t like the others. I’m pretty sure I only let someone kill me once, on purpose. I didn’t really like how revivification felt? But, like everyone was so into it! It was infectious! Everyone would be all, “Let’s all kill Inathyra, again!” Then there’d be some drunken slaughter and the Clerics would give us lectures about proper behavior becoming of nobility blah-blah that everyone rolled their eyes through and then, like a shot, we’d be off planning someone else’s funny, ill-timed demise. Some of them were pretty funny, too! Shalana and the soup! Oh my god! It still makes me chuckle. But, things slowed down after we found Mystralath choked on her own vomit and it had been… no one knew exactly how long, maybe half a day? And then she started a game of “How long until we find Mystralath this time!?” That was bad. (And now I find out it was all illegal too!)
How did I get down this road?
Sorry! Like I’ve complained, I don’t know how you do it--all the organizing of thoughts before they come out.
Anyway, I’m trying to think of what else I wanted to say. I think Hana’s been flirting outrageously with me. It’s a little hard to tell with her because she is so shy and her overtures can be a bit clumsy. Plus, she doesn’t have to work this hard! I’m already into her! A lot!! But, she must not know it, because I woke up this morning wearing a crown of orchids the same shade as my eyes. I’m pretty damn sure Raymal is not the one Druid-crafting me little presents like this, since he’s usually so stoned all the time I’m not sure he remembers my name most days. Besides, if he crafted buds, they’d be from a very different plant. Thyme is also oddly fond of plants for some reason, but if he saw these orchids he’d shove them into one of his little pocket dimensions where he sticks all the others. Agnes and Rakke are doing their own thing--although maybe not since Agnes gave me a blank stare when I tried to get her to come in between Aurika and her obvious flirting with Rakke. (Side note: Rakke’s accent is sexy.) Dax, meanwhile, is becoming my best drinking buddy, so that’s fun, but fully platonic (so far.)
Then, maybe as part of one her flirts, Hana tells me she’s “bad” and drops hints of some dark history and all of a sudden thinking about a naughty Hana has me feeling very weird and fluttery and is driving me to drink--which admittedly is not a very far distance, but still, it’s complicating this budding (see the DRUID JOKE I DID THERE) relationship because I don’t think she likes the drunk me, which is kind of key to my chosen monk path, and while I like her enough to consider some compromises, like you suggested in your reply I got this morning thank you very much, I think asking me to not be who I am is a step too far?? Maybe?
Oh, and speaking of stepping out of line, I may have made a political misstep with the Imperial guard? Or whoever the amber-cloaked people are who follow Aurika around? I dropped Mother’s name to the wrong people, I think, with a little too much arrogance? Mama may be getting some blowback. So… watch yourself? You may be the ex-heir, but people always stupidly think Mother will respond to hostage situations with her children. I’d be worried for my own skin, but I’m voluntarily strolling straight into Zombie Ghost Owlbear Woods!! But not ALONE, because THAT would be dangerous.
Dear gods, the imperial guard or Mother’s assassins would be more than welcome to come snatch me out of this place!
Yours,
Ave
Because the actual session was a little disjointed and thus hard to distill into a singular narrative, this letter also goes off on a tangent about how weird the world would be if we really lived by the rules of 5e. Because of a Cleric character I have waiting in the wings, I've been thinking a lot about death in a world where revivify (and other raise the dead) spells exist. Like, revivify is pretty common, so long as you have a diamond (or diamond dust) worth 300 gold or something like that. This made me think that it would be fully possible for a bunch of aristocrats, like Ave's social class, to make dying and revivifying into a party trick/social fad. Which helps explain why she was so shocked to discover murder was a crime!
If you're curious about how Ave might have participated in that, read under the cut!
==============
June 22
The Verdant Vale Inn
Derlow Forest Edge
Ceyan Empire
Dearest Idyril and Sierra:
I did my very best to convince everyone not to go into the forest. As you can see from my address, I failed.
This is so much of a bad idea that, way back at the Mid-Winter Lodge, two or more days ago, some Star Druids gave Hana a vision of being terrorized by owlbears. She only just told me about it now, while we are on the actual fucking road into Derlow Wood, because she thinks the point of the vision was that it was terrifying because she was alone. Not the whole mauled by bears part. That part is apparently fine. So fine, in fact, that the solution is to, I guess, bring all of us into danger.
Sure.
Makes sense.
I’m trying very hard not to miss the monastery or, gods forbid, home. You’re probably boggling at that last bit, but we now have someone in tow from the university. Aurika “Petri,” who very much reminds me of myself--except, well, shockingly, even higher placed in society. We know Petri is not her real last name because, when we pressed her as to why armed guards seemed to always be on her tail, she confessed.
Aurika is seventh in line to the Imperial Throne.
Yes. I can almost feel you straightening up at the bar, catching your breath, just as I did when I heard this.
Idyril, this group of yahoos and I are taking the Emperor’s cousin, once removed--or whatever she is--into a forest that a lovely Ent person who lives at the University’s quad literally told us is fully of not only owlbears, which are bad enough, but also, and I quote, “shambling people” and “translucent things.”
The Undead, Idyril.
At least we have two Druids, both of whom have studied revivification. Normally, this is not a Druid thing, I guess. By chance, Raymal and Hana are of the same order--some kind of spore or fungus worship. Those little rot animals have always seemed a little slimy and alien to me, but I’m not going to judge, especially not when it saves lives. I’ve also managed to talk everyone in the party who can afford it into buying diamonds or diamond dust which is the key component to the revivify spell. Some of us are even carrying two or three diamonds.
Speaking of nostalgia, I’ve gone back to last year’s Winter Court fashion of wearing a glass vial of diamond dust around my neck for easy revivification. I don’t even mind how “last season” I look.
That was such a strange little fashion. I know you remember it, because you had that cute earring commissioned. It had those three small diamonds hidden like tiny blossoms in the silvery ivy, all dangling and twistingly clever, ending in little flower-shaped glass vial with the remaining diamond dust inside. So much amazing jewelry was being made that incorporated glass vials and diamond dust! And yet the whole thing only became the rage because Mother finally had Master Xistrith successfully assassinated in his own temple, surrounded by clerics fully capable of bringing him back, but for want of a cheap-ass diamond. Remember how even the Ofandrus Clan even started wearing them? Like anyone would try to murder those oafs! They had the political influence of a peanut.
Nobody talked about Mystralath, though. The dead look she started to have in her eyes after the seventeenth revivification? Ghastly! I was at those parties, Idyril, but I want you to know that I wasn’t like the others. I’m pretty sure I only let someone kill me once, on purpose. I didn’t really like how revivification felt? But, like everyone was so into it! It was infectious! Everyone would be all, “Let’s all kill Inathyra, again!” Then there’d be some drunken slaughter and the Clerics would give us lectures about proper behavior becoming of nobility blah-blah that everyone rolled their eyes through and then, like a shot, we’d be off planning someone else’s funny, ill-timed demise. Some of them were pretty funny, too! Shalana and the soup! Oh my god! It still makes me chuckle. But, things slowed down after we found Mystralath choked on her own vomit and it had been… no one knew exactly how long, maybe half a day? And then she started a game of “How long until we find Mystralath this time!?” That was bad. (And now I find out it was all illegal too!)
How did I get down this road?
Sorry! Like I’ve complained, I don’t know how you do it--all the organizing of thoughts before they come out.
Anyway, I’m trying to think of what else I wanted to say. I think Hana’s been flirting outrageously with me. It’s a little hard to tell with her because she is so shy and her overtures can be a bit clumsy. Plus, she doesn’t have to work this hard! I’m already into her! A lot!! But, she must not know it, because I woke up this morning wearing a crown of orchids the same shade as my eyes. I’m pretty damn sure Raymal is not the one Druid-crafting me little presents like this, since he’s usually so stoned all the time I’m not sure he remembers my name most days. Besides, if he crafted buds, they’d be from a very different plant. Thyme is also oddly fond of plants for some reason, but if he saw these orchids he’d shove them into one of his little pocket dimensions where he sticks all the others. Agnes and Rakke are doing their own thing--although maybe not since Agnes gave me a blank stare when I tried to get her to come in between Aurika and her obvious flirting with Rakke. (Side note: Rakke’s accent is sexy.) Dax, meanwhile, is becoming my best drinking buddy, so that’s fun, but fully platonic (so far.)
Then, maybe as part of one her flirts, Hana tells me she’s “bad” and drops hints of some dark history and all of a sudden thinking about a naughty Hana has me feeling very weird and fluttery and is driving me to drink--which admittedly is not a very far distance, but still, it’s complicating this budding (see the DRUID JOKE I DID THERE) relationship because I don’t think she likes the drunk me, which is kind of key to my chosen monk path, and while I like her enough to consider some compromises, like you suggested in your reply I got this morning thank you very much, I think asking me to not be who I am is a step too far?? Maybe?
Oh, and speaking of stepping out of line, I may have made a political misstep with the Imperial guard? Or whoever the amber-cloaked people are who follow Aurika around? I dropped Mother’s name to the wrong people, I think, with a little too much arrogance? Mama may be getting some blowback. So… watch yourself? You may be the ex-heir, but people always stupidly think Mother will respond to hostage situations with her children. I’d be worried for my own skin, but I’m voluntarily strolling straight into Zombie Ghost Owlbear Woods!! But not ALONE, because THAT would be dangerous.
Dear gods, the imperial guard or Mother’s assassins would be more than welcome to come snatch me out of this place!
Yours,
Ave
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Date: 2023-06-22 04:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-06-23 03:57 pm (UTC)